Friday, July 21, 2017

Ohio: Tabbitha Ritter, 25, arrested after leaving her dog locked inside the bathroom of a house she moved out of to die. When police found him, his body was covered in maggots while Ritter claimed she was coming to care for him "every other day"

OHIO -- A city woman was arrested after authorities found a dead dog inside her residence Wednesday afternoon around two o'clock.

Officers responded to the home after receiving a call regarding a dead dog.

No one was home. However, moments later Ritter arrived at the residence.

When questioned by the officers about her dog, she claimed she didn't know how or why the 10-year-old dog had died.

RITTER ABANDONED DOG
Ritter recently moved to West Brown Avenue. She claimed she would stop by her former home every other day to care for her pet. Ritter claimed she had last been there on Sunday.

When she returned on Tuesday, she says found her dog deceased in the bathroom. Ritter claimed she had then contacted her uncle to see if he could come and bury the dog.

When authorities entered the home, they found the dog's body wedged against the bathroom door.Dog Warden Tim Klingelhofer determined the dog had been dead for more than a couple of days. There were visible signs of decay and maggots on the animal.

There was dog food in the kitchen, but no water was located. The dog couldn't have reached it anyway as it appeared that she had locked the dog inside the bathroom where there was no access to food or water.

Ritter was charged with cruelty to animals.

The case has been forwarded to Bellefontaine Municipal Court to consider abandoning animals and registration of dogs charges.